


Believer and the Skeptic

by holdyourbreathfornow



Category: Buzzfeed The Try Guys (Web Series), Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: And then I kinda just went hogwild with the rest, Beast!Shane, Beauty and the Beast AU, Belle!Ryan, Enchantress!Sara, Gaston!Brent, Minor Character Death, Multi, No weird furniture people here thanks, RIP brondt, Tags to be updated as story progresses, Temporary Character Death, lol no i’m Not, sorry brint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-04
Updated: 2018-09-05
Packaged: 2019-06-21 13:22:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15558660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/holdyourbreathfornow/pseuds/holdyourbreathfornow
Summary: When young prince Shane Madej is saved from death, only to be trapped in the spell that saved him, he becomes a reluctant recluse, alone except for his servants and the stone statues of his parents.And then a merchant comes to visit.





	1. Aria

There was a palace high in the mountains where a prince who loved to read lived.  He was a young boy named Shane whose parents simply pretended he didn’t exist so that they did not have to deal with any trouble he would cause.  He was given personal servants and a wing of the castle, including a large, glorious library. He would spend most of his days in the library, tall and lanky form curled up into a chair by a blazing fire built to combat the chill winds of the mountain.

 

The closest thing Prince Shane had to a mother was a servant woman named Helen who was kind and would bring him tea and finger sandwiches as he sat by the fire, so terribly lonely and yet so unaware that he was.

 

When Shane’s parents finally decided to acknowledge him, it was just in time for his eleventh birthday, when he would begin his training to become king.  There was a grand ball and Helen helped Shane don his finest suit, lifting his chin in the mirror so that he was looking at his reflection and what it showed:  A scared boy who wasn’t used to people and was feeling overwhelmed before the party had even started.

 

“You are so brave.”  Helen told Shane proudly and he looked into her reflection’s eyes, seeing them crinkled in a smile.  “I am so very proud of you.”

 

“Thank you, Helen.”  Shane murmured quietly and readjusted the crown upon his brow.  “If only you could come with me to the party.”

 

“Maybe I’ll sneak down.”  Helen grinned and danced fingers across Shane’s ribs lightly, making the boy laugh brightly, face clearing of the wrinkles and marks that made him look like an adult inside a lonely child’s body.  

 

“No!  Cause then you’ll get in trouble!”  The door to Shane’s room creaked open and a little messenger boy, Zach, if Shane remembered correctly, peered around the heavy wood, eyes owlish behind the thick lenses of his glasses.

 

“The Royal Highnesses are ready for the Crown Prince.”  Helen tweaked Shane’s chin one last time before gently pushing him out the door.

 

Zach peered up at him and Shane stared back.

 

“It’s very nice to meet you!”  He chirped and Shane laughed, doing a goofy, over-exaggerated bow.

 

“It is my royal pleasure!”  The two giggled for a little bit before Zach turned and began leading Shane to the ballroom, where a crowd milled around, chattering like the birds that sang on Shane’s windowsill in the morning.

 

On a dais at the front, a singer and her accompaniment quietly tuned their instruments and prepared to perform.  She stood tall, elegant, with her dress flowing like water and nearly taking up half the stage. She winked at Shane when she saw him and smiled, making him duck his head, suddenly shy.  Zach peeled away from him, vanishing into the crowd.

 

“Announcing the Crown Prince, Shane Madej!”  A hush fell over the ballroom birds, and they cleared a path so that he may walk to where his parents awaited, their eyes glittering coldly in the flames of the candelabras.  “As we all know, tonight is his eleventh birthday. After this ball, he shall begin training to become King!” The announcer’s voice rang out and Shane very nearly lifted his shoulders to his ears from the scathing eyes of nobles, but remembered Helen, waiting in his room with a finger sandwich, and he was able to walk the last few steps confidently, bowing at his father’s feet.

 

“My son, I have raised you and taught you the ways of our kingdom.  I trust you will not fail me in your training.” His mother traded places, smiling daintily down at him, like a porcelain doll that would cut someone even if it was not broken.

 

“I saw you walk your first steps.  I saw you grow, happy and healthy. I trust you will not fail me in your training.”

 

“I suppose if anyone’s failed here, it’s their Royal Majesties!”  A voice giggled from the audience and the people once again folded out of someone’s way, only this person wasn’t royalty.

 

The woman was short, with curly hair that spiraled to her chin and framed her blinding grin.  She bounced forwards and hooked her thin but strong fingers under Shane’s arm, hauling him gently to his feet as her sharp eyes never left his mother’s.

 

“What is the meaning of this?”  The queen spluttered, the king coming to her side, and the woman stepped forward in front of Shane slightly, as if she were protecting him from his own parents.  

 

“I am laying judgment, your Majesty.  You have been found guilty.”

 

“Guards!”  The king bellowed and pointed his finger like an arrow at the unwavering young woman.  “Keep that madwoman away from the Prince!”

 

“He’s perfectly fine, aren’t you, darling?”  The question was directed at Shane, who shocked even himself by nodding in agreement.  “There you have it!” The guards leveled their spears at the woman and her smile slowly melted away, the hand on Shane’s shoulder squeezing ever so tightly.  

 

“Step away from the boy.”  The head guard growled and the woman shook her head, curls flying out like a halo in the candelabra light.

 

“No.”  And with that, her eyes turned into molten gold, her hair growing longer, remaining curly and dark brown.  She grew taller by a full foot and towered over the assembled people.

 

“It’s an enchantress,” was the hushed whisper from the crowd and Shane squeaked in fear when he realized the sheer power pouring from this woman in waves.  She smiled down at him and bent until her mouth was by Shane’s ear.

 

“I will not hurt you.”  She vowed and, even if he wasn’t consciously aware of it, something in Shane’s chest loosened so that he went slack in the enchantress’ grip.  The soldiers’ spears broke into a thousand iron pieces and danced around the candelabras overhead. “I have deemed you guilty, Madej!” The king flinched at the use of his last name.  “I shall punish you accordingly!”

 

In desperation, the king pulled a dagger usually used for ceremonies and threw it.  Years of no combat practice and fattening meals left his aim less than impeccable and instead of planting in the enchantress’ chest like planned, the knife bloomed in Shane’s chest.  

 

The young boy staggered back with a gasp and the enchantress growled, like the wild wolf of the forest who she called her family.  With a wave of her hand, the world around her and Shane turned to syrup, and she knelt over him, cupping his face in her hands.

 

“Listen very closely to me, little prince, because I am so deeply sorry, but there only remains one way I can save you.

 

Your mother and father have insulted me and harmed you.  I must deal justice swiftly, but you have been caught in the crossfire.  Your parents I shall entomb in stone, in a sleep like death, and you I must transform into a wild beast, for this is the only way I know how to cure you.  I am not trained in the healing of man, only of beast. But once I place you in this form, it is your duty to free yourself. Your true soul must shine through the hide of the beast, through the power of love.  But the beast is strong and the change will become permanent if you do not find love by the adult age of 30. To ensure you are not hunted, your castle will be forgotten in the minds of all except the servants who live here, servants who cannot leave these grounds until you, their prince, are freed from your curse.  The others shall follow.”

 

“I don’t want my friends to suffer.”  Shane gasped, fighting for every breath, and the enchantress smiled.  

 

“You are a good man.  They will not suffer. Now hush and let me concentrate.”


	2. Belle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan heads to the library.

Ryan Bergara flipped through the books on the shelf of his small house, sighing when he realized he had already read them all.

 

“Heading out to the library?”  His mother called from her working basement and Ryan chuckled.  He always forgot how easily sound traveled in his home. Mama must have heard him sigh.

 

“Yes, Mama!  Want me to return that manual you borrowed?”  He called and, hearing a grunt of affirmation instead of an actual response, he seized the book up and headed out into the streets of his village.  The sun was rising over the hill that rose behind them and people were only waking up, opening windows above his head to call greetings to each other as they fanned out blankets, dust clouding in gusts.  

 

“Ryan!”  A voice called and he craned his head around a baker bustling across his path, seeing Ned Fulmer waving from where he was walking with his wife, Ariel.  Ryan beamed and swam through the crowd, emerging victorious at their side. “Off to the library today?”

 

“Am I so predictable?”  Ryan asked with a laugh, and Ariel smiled at him.

 

“Not really a bad thing, Ry.  But Brent and Zach get back from their hunting trip today, so maybe keep your head down.”

 

Brent Bennett was a good enough man, Ryan supposed, when he wasn’t dogging on Ryan’s every step like a hound desperate for a scrap of food.  Or, in Brent’s case, a date. While Ryan would probably say Brent was a friend, he was happy with leaving it there. Brent was a little too… Bland for the dreams Ryan had of leaving home, exploring the great wide out there.

 

“Thanks, Ariel.  Oh! I forgot!” From a pocket on his coat, Ryan produced a salve in a glass bottle, handing it to the woman.  “My mother cooked this up when I told her about Wes’ sore tummy. She said rub it on his tummy when he fusses and it will help.”

 

“Truly a miracle worker.”  The parents sighed in unison and waved Ryan off as he continued on his way.

 

While his friends treated Ryan well, the same could not be said for the rest of the village.  As a man who was constantly wanting to learn more, curious and exuberant about his discoveries, he certainly made waves in a rural town that wanted to remain that way.  As Ryan continued to head for the library, he felt as if the villagers were whispering about him behind his back, about his witch mother and his father, who was constantly traveling.  Maybe they were saying that Ryan’s father only married Ryan’s mother because she cast a spell on him.

 

But Ryan was happy, and he nodded in greeting to everyone who caught his eye, including several small children who hounded about his knees, clamoring excitedly.  He listened with interest, letting a couple swing from his arms like monkeys in bonnets and tight school uniforms. Finally, the parents came and swept their children away from Ryan and he was able to reach the library.

 

It was a small building, set apart from the rest slightly, and that was the way Ryan preferred it:  Calm and quiet, peaceful in a village seemingly made of nothing but noise.

 

A bell above the door tinkled like crystal when Ryan pushed it open, and he listened for the shuffling footsteps of the old librarian, an elderly woman who treated Ryan like her own son.  

 

“Ryan, my boy!”  The librarian squeaked, walking over to him and pulling him down so that she could plant a kiss on his cheek.  “It’s been ages since you’ve come to visit!”

 

“It’s only been a week, Rosie.”  Ryan chuckled, even as he went to browse the shelves, fingers dancing along the spines of the fairy tale section.

 

“Bah!”  Rosie scoffed and toddled away, waving her cane in the air slightly.  “Still too long. Nothing new in, but you can borrow one you’ve already read!”  

 

He didn’t say anything, instead closing his hand around a worn volume and pulling it from the shelf.  When Rosie turned back to him, he silently held it up for her approval. She grinned, showing off bright teeth that didn’t seem like they would exist in a woman of her exceptional age.

 

“Again?  Probably the sixth time this month.”

 

“Oh, so you can’t remember the last time I visited, but you can remember how many times I’ve read this book?”  There was no heat behind his words and Rosie wheezed with laughter, waving a gnarled hand dismissively. 

 

“My memory isn’t completely gone, kiddo.  Tell you what. In exchange for you bringing me some of that muscle salve your momma makes, you can keep that book.”

 

“Really?”  Ryan’s eyes shone in the low lights of the library and he strode over to plant a joyful kiss on Rosie’s cheek.  “Thank you. It means a lot, Rosie.”

 

“You’re gonna change the world someday, kiddo.”  Rosie’s eyes sparkled and she pet his cheek. “Learn.  It’ll make your path easier.”

 

With Rosie’s cryptic words lingering in the air behind him, Ryan emerged to the roar of a quickly gathering crowd.  He wasn’t tall by any stretch of the word, so he scaled halfway up a nearby building and tucked his book into his shirt as he peered over the mass’ heads.  

 

Two horses rode for the village gates, heavily laden with slain animals, and one of the riders’ beam was clearly seen regardless of the distance.  Ryan groaned quietly and let himself fall to the ground, beginning to push through the crowd in the direction of his home. The ebb and flow of excited people made his progress slow, and he wasn’t prepared when he was swept off his feet and heaved onto the saddle of one of the horses.

 

“I’m back!”  Brent announces happily, and Ryan’s still in enough shock from being manhandled, that he just squeaks and twists around, trying his desperate best to get off the high horse.  “What’s wrong, aren’t you happy to see me?”

 

“I’m just trying to get home!”  Ryan complains and Brent reaches out, forcing the younger man to still, and smiles down at him.

 

“Well, I know the way.  I’ll give you a ride.”

 

And that’s when Ryan realizes he doesn’t really have a choice in the matter.

  
  



	3. How Does A Moment Last Forever

“And what on earth is going on here?”  Mama stands outside, a basket of herbs tucked under her arm, as Ryan and Brent ride up.  Once they’ve come to a stop, Ryan plants his hands firmly on Brent’s chest and pushes with his considerable strength.  Brent loses his balance and flails, trying to remain upright. This gives Ryan the chance to fall off the horse and run to his mother’s side.  She puts her other arm consolingly on his shoulder, and together, the two glare at Brent. 

 

“Mrs. Bergara, surely you’ve realized that you don’t want Ryan following in your footsteps.”  Brent tries to be kind, but his words are patronizing and Ryan bares his teeth in a snarl. “A lonely spinster, never truly happy.”

 

“The trash in your spittoon seems to be spilling from your mouth.”  Mama says calmly and Ryan grins. Watching Mama tear Brent to figurative pieces should be vindicating.  

 

“He will never go anywhere in life!”  Brent shouts suddenly, sliding from his horse and towering over Mama.  While Ryan flinches at the sudden shift of tone, Mama seems unbothered, arching one eyebrow like Brent is merely a plant she must cut to pieces for one of her salves.  “I’m his only chance!”

 

“No, you’re a stupid boy with a big head.  If my son says he will not marry you, then I obviously abide by his wishes.  Now get off my property, your horse might trample my rosemary.” Brent opens his mouth to say something, but when Mama just glares, the beady-eyed one that sends mean-spirited people running for the hills, Brent very nearly swallows his tongue in his haste to mount his horse and leave.

 

Once Ryan is positive Brent is gone, he sighs and buries his face in Mama’s shoulder.

 

“What if he’s right?”  Ryan whispers, the fear too terrible to keep locked  up, not when he knows he can confide in Mama. “What if I’ll never amount to anything?”

 

“Poppycock.”  Mama says simply and heads inside, Ryan picking up her second basket of herbs and following.  Once they’ve gone down into her work room, Ryan deposits the basket and sits on a stool as Mama sprinkles some leaves into a mortar and begins grinding them with a pestle.  As her hands work, she juts her chin to a painting that hangs on a wall across the room. Ryan turns to look and it is a painting he knows very well: Himself, as a baby, drawing on a piece of paper in what once was their home in Paris.  

 

“Your father was a great artist.”  Mama tells Ryan, and sits on another stool across from him, still mashing herbs.  “He told me that you would be so handsome someday, both inside and out.” She pauses in her work to reach out, gently laying a hand over Ryan’s heart, and she smiles at him, this gentle, open thing, like she’s seeing that little drawing boy in the home in Paris.  “I am so proud of you, Ryan.”

 

“Thanks, Mama.”  The two sit in silence for a long while before some distant sound echoes down from upstairs:  Someone banging at their front door. Ryan flies to his feet and he and Mama both head upstairs.  Throwing the door open reveals a boy, small and tired-looking, and Ryan recognizes him as the son of a local merchant, the two having just left for the marketplaces of Paris the other day.

 

“Gregory, has something happened?”  Mama asks and the boy nods, bottom lip quivering violently before he bursts into great, heaving sobs.  Mama whisks the boy inside and Ryan peers out for a moment before he slams the door closed and follows his mother to the kitchen, where she’s using a warm rag to scrub dirt from Gregory’s face.  “So tell me where your father is, Gregory.”

 

“There was a storm and it felled a tree, blocking the usual route.  Our horse got scared and ran down another one, and the other path continued all the way to this huge castle!”  Gregory lifts his hands over his head to emphasize the castle’s height, though they’re quickly lowered when Mama starts scrubbing around his fingernails with the rag.  “Papa went inside to beg an audience with the owner, but there was this giant monster!” He bares his teeth and Mama nods, scrubbing at his neck now. “I got frightened and ran!  Papa was calling for me, but I just kept running! The monster has my father, Mrs. Bergara!”

 

“Oh goodness.”  Mama murmurs and turns to Ryan, something flickering in her eye.  “Ryan, take Phillippe and ride to the castle Gregory speaks of. Do be careful.”  Ryan nods and leaves, Mama leading Gregory to the sitting room. 

 

He can see Brent riding towards him on his own horse, but Ryan doesn’t have time for fending the man off, instead swinging onto his horse and urging the stallion on, flying through the village gates and destined for the depths of the forest beyond.

 

-

 

Ryan’s fairly certain he would remember a castle, looming ridiculously large deep in the forest, considering it’s actually not that far from town, but he’s still shocked silent when Phillippe pulls up, snorting nervously, at a humongous pair of wrought iron gates.  The gates stand open, and Ryan can see the merchant’s cart parked further inside, so he urges his horse onwards, though Phillippe is obviously frightened. 

 

The castle stands four stories tall, made of dark stone that looks almost black in the overcast bleakness of winter.  A wind gusts up suddenly, sending his dark blue cloak flying out behind him, and he shivers, holding the reins with one hand as he reaches behind him and tugs the cape back around him.  

 

There’s a set of stables at the base of the stairs leading up to the entrance, so Ryan dismounts and leads Phillippe over to them, brushing his horse down and warming his hands on a torch burning bright nearby.

 

“A castle this big, you’d think there would be servants or something.”  Ryan muses to Phillippe, who snorts around a mouthful of the fresh hay. When Ryan realizes he’s not going to get any further conversation from a horse, he sighs and walks towards the entrance.  

 

The large door, almost three times as tall as Ryan, opens easily beneath his touch and he stumbles in, glancing around at the dimly lit front hall.  He doesn’t see any servants bustling around and coughs awkwardly. 

 

“Goodness, you must be near frozen!”  A woman with Asian features like Ryan’s breezed down the stairs, long black hair fanning out in the air behind her.  She stopped in front of Ryan and took his cloak when he offered it. “I assume you’ve come to fetch the merchant?”

 

“Yes.  His son came to my home.”  The woman nodded and turned, beckoning for Ryan to follow.

 

“The castle labeled him as an intruder.  The master’s working to free him now.” She lead Ryan deeper into the castle, up staircase after staircase until their progress was slowed by her weakening fatigue.  “I swear, we don’t need this many floors.” Ryan barked out a laugh just as they reached the top and finally arrived at the prison cells at the top of the tower. A dark shape stood in front of one, shoulders heaving as they tugged at the doors, the encouraging murmurs of the merchant weaving under the pants and grunts.  This must be the master that the woman had been talking about. 

 

“Shane, the man from the village is here.”  The dark shape whirled, and when it face was revealed in the light of the woman’s torch, Ryan squeaked in fear and very nearly toppled back down the stairs.  The creature towered over him by a full two heads, ram’s heads spiraling from just above his ears in perfect symmetry. His sclera were black, with irises that glowed red like fire, and teeth that would have been normal except for the fact they were sharper than knives, stretched in a grin of death.

 

“We really didn’t mean for him to get trapped here.”  The demon shrugged apologetically and Ryan leaned around his side to raise an eyebrow at the merchant questioningly.  When the man beamed and nodded, Ryan took a deep breath and looked back into the demon’s eyes.

 

“Well, as long as it wasn’t your fault, dude.”  The demon grinned again and stood aside, letting Ryan examine the bars of the cell.  “So is your castle sentient or something?”

 

“Near as we can figure.”  The creature shrugged again and the woman placed the candelabra she bore into a notch in the wall.  “Thanks, Helen.”

 

“Of course, Shane.”  Ryan ignored the small talk the two made, instead wrapping his fingers into the cell door and tugging insistently.  There was a moment’s pause when something shifted, like he had dunked his head underwater and was resurfacing for air.  Between one blink and the next, Ryan and the merchant had swapped places, Ryan’s fingers still sunk into the metal bars.  

 

“I’m free!”  The merchant squawked and smiled at Ryan.  “Thanks, kid! I’ll bring help later!”

 

“No, wait-”  Just as Ryan reached for the merchant through the thin metal bars, the merchant turned and flew down the stairs.  Ryan cursed loudly.

 

“Well… I definitely wasn’t expecting that to happen.”  Shane came to look at Ryan in his cell and Ryan stuck his tongue out petulantly.  “Hey, not my fault he ditched you, man.”

 

“You’re a real jerk, you know that?”  Ryan snapped bitterly and Shane burst into laughter, horns clanging against the metal of the cell as he bent over, wheezing as he gasped for air.

 

“Oh, you’re a riot and a half, little guy.”  He straightened up and Ryan tried not to flinch back at the fiery red eyes squinted merrily at him.  “I might actually enjoy having you as a prisoner.”


	4. Be Our Guest

“I could give you an actual room.”  Ryan glares from his pile of sleeping hay, and Shane rolls his eyes, leaning forward until his horns clang against the metal cell bars.  “C’mon, Ry, I’m not the bad guy.”

 

“Fuck off.”  Ryan growls and Shane sighs.

 

“Can you at least explain why you’re acting like a little piss baby before I leave you alone?”

 

“Maybe I wanna go home!”  Ryan yells, standing and walking over to the cell door.  Shane backs away from the door just as Ryan slams his hands around the poles and shakes the thing viciously.  He’s practically snarling with rage and Shane slinks back another step. “Maybe I don’t wanna be locked up in this goddamn castle at all, with you or any of your servants!”  He stops shaking the door and leans against it, heaving and crumpling inwards as his anger turns to grief. “If this entire place sees me as a prisoner, it’s never going to let me go.  I had a home, family…”

 

“Well, while that does absolutely suck…”  Shane snags the cell key and opens the door, standing aside and sweeping one hand out dramatically.  “You shouldn’t make it worse on yourself.”

 

“Yeah…”  Ryan shifts back and forth hesitantly on the balls of his feet before he exhales forcefully and strides through the door, turning slightly away from Shane, who obligingly pretends not to notice Ryan wiping his eyes.  “Alright, so show me the fanciest room you got.”

 

“That would be my room, which you’re definitely not allowed to sleep in.”  Shane grins and Ryan laughs, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest.

 

“Damn, I just would kill to sleep in a bed covered in dog hair.”

 

“I am not a dog!”  Shane insists and Ryan just keeps laughing as the two walk through the halls of the castle.

 

-

 

“This is the second nicest room we have.”  Shane says, leading the way up a high tower.  Ryan trails behind him, and behind him, another servant trails silently, unnoticed by the original pair.  Shane finally stops on a landing just outside an elegant wooden door emblazoned with threads of gold, and turns.  His eyes land on the servant and he grins. “Oh, hey, Eugene. When did you get here?” Ryan’s face morphs with confusion until he turns and looks up into the face of an Asian man, taller than Ryan and staring down at him, evidently unimpressed if the way his mouth is screwed up like he ate a bug can be trusted as accurate.

 

“Everyone’s getting all worked up about this new guy the castle won’t let go, so I figured I’d see what all the fuss was about.”

 

“He’s head of the household.”  Shane tells Ryan as Eugene turns and whispers off down the staircase, like some creepy, living ghost.  “He likes to know what’s going on every minute of every day, but he’s actually pretty cool.”

 

“He walks so quietly!”  Ryan mutters back and Shan grins.

 

“I know, right?  Isn’t it creepy?”

 

“So creepy.”  The two stand there together for a minute longer before Shane shakes himself and turns back to the door.

 

“Anyway, here’s your room.”  Shane throws the door open and Ryan ducks under his arm to gape at his surroundings.

 

A four-poster bed sits against one wall, covered in a midday sky blue comforter, the posters carved to look like golden trees.  They reach up, and golden branches curl daintily across the ceiling, tapering off near the door, as if they’re trying to grow out and away.

 

A woman is curled up on the window sill, napping, and Shane snorts, walking over to shake the woman awake.  She grumbles and pushes the brim of her floppy sun hat up and out of her eyes, glaring up at Shane.

 

“Damn, dude, why you gotta interrupt a girl’s nap like that?  Just trying to catch some z’s.” The woman gets to her feet and Shane sighs deeply.

 

“Yes, hello to you too, Quinta.  I brought someone to live in this room, so you can actually work instead of just sleeping around all day.”

 

“You did?”  Quinta leans around Shane, and her entire face brightens up when she lays her eyes on Ryan.  “Oh my god, you didn’t say he was tiny.”

 

“I’m not!”  Ryan says defensively, but Quinta’s too busy bustling Shane out of the way so she can walk over and squish Ryan’s face in both of her hands.

 

“Sugar, you’re adorable, it’s great.”  Ryan looks over Quinta’s shoulder and lifts his eyebrows meaningfully at Shane, but the man/beast is too busy choking on silent laughter, hunched over and leaning against the wall.  Eventually, he clears his throat and straightens up, pausing to ruffle Ryan’s hair on his way out the door, ignoring the younger man’s wild, irritated flailing.

 

“Well, I have to go make sure Keith hasn’t destroyed anything since Eugene’s not with him, but dinner will be ready soon if you wanna come down?”  Shane tilts his head questioningly and Ryan doesn’t hesitate before he nods, smiling slightly. The taller man smiles back, revealing a mouth full of unusually sharp teeth, and walks out of the room, leaving Ryan to be cooed over by Quinta.

 

-

 

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”  Zach asks as Brent leads the two of them to the Bergara house with a single-minded determination.

 

“Absolutely!”  Brent slows his horse and lets Zach pull up level with him so he can clap Zach on the shoulder hard enough to almost knock him out of his saddle.  “You’ll see, Zach Kornfeld, I’ll get Ryan to marry me like that!” He snaps his fingers and Zach sighs.

 

“Maybe he just doesn’t want to marry you, Brent.”  But they’ve arrived at the house and Brent ignores Zach in favor of beating viciously on the door.  He steps back, fixing a wide, faked smile on his face, and he waits.

 

Zach has almost decided to wander off and find something to entertain himself with when the door swings open to reveal Mrs. Bergara, broom in hand and the stick end leveled directly at Brent’s chest.

 

“Why are you here?”  She questions and Brent lets the smile drop off his face to be replaced by an irritated scowl.

 

“I’m here to get your son to marry me, you old witch.”  Mrs. Bergara bares her teeth in what seems like a fierce grin, if it weren’t for the flames of rage flickering in her eyes.

 

“My son will marry you of his own free will, not by your forcing him to, Brent.”

 

“He’ll never amount to anything!”  Brent shouts and Mrs. Bergara literally growls in rage.  Zach gulps heavily and begins inching away as Brent and Mrs. Bergara stand toe-to-toe.

 

“You are an ant beneath my heel.”  Mrs. Bergara spits and Brent rolls his eyes.

 

“Just let me talk to Ryan.”

 

“He isn’t here.  I sent him to the abandoned castle in the forest for the merchant.”

 

“The merchant is here!”  Brent yells and runs a hand through his hair.  “So where’s your son?”

 

“He might still be at the castle!”  Zach squeaks and both Brent and Mrs. Bergara turn to glare him into silence.  Then Brent pauses to think through what Zach said and his glare turns into a beaming grin as he lifts Zach up by his shoulders and shakes him like a dog would shake an old, rotting toy.  

 

“Zach, you’ve actually proven yourself useful for once!”  Brent lets Zach go, and the younger man struggles to stay on his feet as Brent practically jumps onto his horse and rears it onto its hind legs.  

 

“You will not get your way!”  Mrs. Bergara shouts, shaking her broom at Brent, but the older man just grins down at her and kicks the broom away from him and his horse.

 

“Watch me.”  With that, he turns and gallops off, leaving Mrs. Bergara and Zach to stare after him.

 

-

 

“That is… A lot of food.”  Ryan cranes his neck to look at the cartfuls of food that are being wheeled out from the kitchen and into the dining room.  Quinta nods, before she suddenly jumps up to stand on the tips of her toes and wave maniacally at someone. She lowers back down and turns to smile at Ryan.

 

“Here, I’m going to introduce you to someone.”  A tall man walks through the group of busy servants and smiles down at Ryan and Quinta, holding a hand out for Ryan to shake.

 

“Hey, I’m Keith!  It’s great to meet you, we don’t get that many guests around here!”

 

“Keith, this is Ryan, he’s the… Well, I guess he’s the prisoner.”

 

“Nah, he’s just a guest!”  Keith grins and waves at one of the carts, taking it from the servant pushing it and, turning back to Quinta and Ryan, nodding down an empty hallway.  “C’mon, we’ll have a snack.”

 

“More like a feast.”  Ryan mutters, but he and Quinta dart off after Keith’s loping form anyway.

 

“So how do you like it here?”  Keith asks as he piles together a sandwich.  The trio are sitting in some random hallway, leaning against a wall in a little row.  Quinta’s got a cup of soup and Ryan’s picking apart a burrito he made.

 

“I guess it’s alright.”  Ryan mutters as he shreds his tortilla into tiny bites.  “The fact you all are pretty nice makes it better.”

 

“Aw, thank you!”  Keith holds one hand to his chest and flutters his eyelashes obnoxiously, making the other two snort with laughter.  “But, seriously, this place is great, especially since we can’t go home.”

 

“Why can’t you go home?”  Ryan asks and Keith shakes his head, looking unusually serious.  

 

“I’m not allowed to tell you that, Ryan.  But it’s kind of the reason Shane looks like he does.”

 

“Talking about me behind my back?”  Shane looms over Ryan with a grin and Ryan sticks his tongue out at him after he jolts in shock.

 

“Stop sneaking up on me, you fucking lapdog.”

 

“Fuck you, I’m not a dog.”  Shane curls his legs under him and collapses to the floor with a groan, landing next to Ryan and taking the remnant of his burrito, chewing it up and swallowing it in one massive bite.  “But I did have something I want to show you.” Ryan hesitates, but Shane just grins at him excitedly and he folds like a house of cards, sighing and climbing to his feet as Shane also leaps up.  

 

“I’ll see you two around?”  Ryan asks Quinta and Keith, who nod and wave goodbye as Shane wraps one large paw around Ryan’s wrist and carefully tugs him away down the hall.  “Where are we going that’s got you all excited?”

 

“The gardens.”

 

-

 

Hedges tower over the two of them, forming a loose circle around the entire estate.  The tops are trimmed to rise and fall like wave crests and at their tallest, they lift above the very tips of Shane’s horns.

 

“Who does these?”  Ryan asks, pulling his winter cloak tighter around himself, and Shane grins down at him.

 

“That’s the thing.  These are magic bushes.  They’ve been like this since the curse first came into effect.  I think it’s just for the decor.”

 

“Weird…”  Ryan mutters and purses his lips, deep in thought.  Because he’s thinking so hard, though, he doesn’t notice Shane reach up to the top of the hedge and brace his arm carefully into a pile of snow.  With one large heave, Shane sweeps the top layer off and directly onto Ryan, who starts spluttering and cursing at Shane, who just howls with laughter as the human kicks at his shins.

 

“You didn’t drag me outside to look at magic bushes, you bastard!”  Ryan sweeps some snow off the ground and presses it directly into Shane’s chest, sending the taller man stumbling from the force behind it.  

 

“You caught me.”  Shane grins at Ryan brightly.  “I dragged you out here to cheer you up.  Tag!” He pushes Ryan onto his ass and takes off, skidding around a bush as Ryan leaps back to his feet and gives chase.  

 

“Get back here, you bastard!”  But Shane takes one giant leap and clears a hedge, taking off back for the castle.  Ryan’s about to run after him when a hand reaches out and clamps around his arm. He shrieks in surprise and Shane stiffens, turning around to see Brent tugging at Ryan’s arm and shushing him fervently.

 

“It’s alright, Ryan, I’m here to rescue you from the monster!”  

 

“Monster?”  Ryan questions, confused, and hears the sound of Shane running back to them from the distance.

 

“The beast of the castle!”  Brent looks over Ryan’s head and pales, cursing under his breath.  “He’s coming, Ryan, we have to go.”

 

“Fuck you, I’m not going anywhere!”  Ryan turns and reaches out for Shane, who has finally arrived and uses one giant hand to rip Ryan free from Brent’s grasp and push him protectively behind him.  

 

“Get off my property.”  Shane growls lowly, dangerously, and Brent gulps, but still straightens up taller with false bravado.  

 

“I’m here to rescue Ryan Bergara!”

 

“He doesn’t need rescuing!”  Shane turns back to Ryan and pulls out the puppy-dog eyes.  “You don’t need rescuing, right, little guy?”

 

“No, big guy, I’m fine.”  Ryan peers around Shane and flips Brent the bird.  “So you can piss off.”

 

“He-he’s brainwashed you into captivity.”  Brent stammers, even as he clambers back onto his horse.  “Don’t worry, Ryan, I’ll come back with a rescue party! You’ll see, we’ll be fine!”  He turns and leaves and Shane looks down at Ryan with a beaming grin, which makes Ryan narrow his eyes suspiciously.

 

“What are you so happy about, you big oaf?”

 

“You don’t need rescuing.”  The sheer, unfiltered joy in Shane’s voice makes Ryan flush and he has to look away and bury his face in his shoulder, which just makes Shane laugh next to him.


	5. Something There/Kill The Beast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, I almost cried writing this. Warnings for stabs and gunshots and kidnappings and everything’s just a big mess.

Shane shakes his head like a dog, sending snow splattering down onto Ryan, making the younger man squeak from the cold.  The two are currently standing in the front hall, and Helen comes walking up with towels.

 

“How are the gardens?”  She asks Shane after she’s thrown a towel at his face and handed the other to Ryan much more gently.  Shane wraps the towel around his neck like a scarf and uses the ends to start drying his face.

 

“We had a little visitor.”  He mutters and Ryan winces.

 

“And he said he’d be back.  So that’s just a little worrisome.”

 

“Oh, just a bit?”  Shane mocks him sarcastically and Ryan runs the towel through his hair with one hand, flipping Shane off with the other.  “But I don’t want anyone wandering the grounds for a bit, just until we can figure out if he was serious or not.”

 

“He was.”  Ryan sighs.  “Brent is… Persistent, to put it lightly.”

 

“And delusional, to say it heavily.  Alright, Helen, get everyone gathered, we’ve got some defense prepping to do.”  Helen leaves and Ryan starts to, but Shane reaches out and lightly grabs his hand.  “Ryan, I’m gonna ask you something and I want you to be completely honest with me.”

 

“Okay?”  Ryan turns to face Shane and looks up, reaching out to grab his other hand so both hands are swinging together between them.  “Ask away, big guy.”

 

“Do you wanna go home?  I won’t judge you if you do, but-”

 

“Don’t be a dumbass!”  Ryan yanks at Shane’s hands and glares at him fiercely.  “I’m not going home now, even if I wanted to! Brent’s hell-bent on destroying you and I’m not just gonna fuck off!”  

 

“Okay.”  Shane exhales shakily and begins to laugh hard, doubling over before he staightens back up enough to press their foreheads together.  “Okay, Ryan.”

 

-

 

“There’s a ferocious beast preparing to devour us all in the forest!”  Brent balances on top of several produce boxes, waving his arms wildly as a larger and larger crowd gathers at the base of his little tower.  “He’s already taken one man from our village! Are we going to wait until he comes for the women and children?”

 

“No!”  A mother responds, pulling her children closer to herself protectively.  The crowd erupts into angry murmuring and Zach watches on nervously. He, Ned, and Ariel stand apart from the crowd, little Wesley sleeping soundly in his mother’s arms.

 

“I’ve got a bad feeling.”  Zach murmurs to Ned, who nods slightly in agreement as he watches Brent rave above them.  “We should go with him.”

 

“I’m not sure…”  Ned glances to his wife, who smiles and tucks Wesley deeper into her embrace.

 

“The two of us will be just fine.  You two go with the mob, make sure nothing seriously bad happens.”

 

“I’m not sure what just the two of us might do.”  Thinking on it for a moment, Ned sighs and runs a hand through his hair.  “But fine. Stay inside, lock the doors, don’t come out.”

 

“Just like All Hollows’ Eve.”  Ariel beams and stands on her tip toes to press a kiss to Ned’s cheek, letting him bend down and kiss the wispy hairs beginning to peek out from Wesley’s bald head.  “Go on, it looks like they’re leaving.” She nods to where Brent’s leading a line of men into the forest, and Ned and Zach rush to form the end of the line. Ariel watches them vanish into the foreboding trees and sighs heavily, kissing her son.  “Please, God, let them be safe.”

 

-

 

“Seal all the windows, don’t leave a single gap!”  Eugene commands a group of servants tasked with forming the defenses, and he’s taken to his task diligently.  A hammer hangs from a loop on his belt and his curly black hair is held back by a bit of cloth tied aroud his forehead.  Keith stands at his side, loading a musket and unloading it repeatedly, hands desperate for a bit of busy work.

 

“I was looking forward to the day the curse broke so I could go see my wife.”  Keith mentions casually and Eugene snaps an order to start making wooden stakes to put outside the doors before he responds to the comment.

 

“Hey, old man.  You act like we’re gonna die in this stupid castle.”

 

“What if we do?”  Keith asks and Eugene rolls his eyes, taking the unloaded musket from Keith’s hands and leaning it against the wall.

 

“We’re not going to.  You and I both know what you’re doing.  You’re worrying.”

 

“With good reason!”  This makes Eugene scoff and he smiles slightly, leaning over to jab Keith in the side with his elbow lightly.  “Fine, I’m scared, dude!”

 

“Me too.”  Eugene mutters and shivers lightly, as if a cold wind has just blown through.  “Me too.”

 

-

 

“I can see them.”  Shane announces, holding a pair of binoculars as he and Ryan stand on the tallest tower, snow blowing in flurries around them and making their breaths steam from their mouths.  “They’ve got torches.”

 

“Let me see.”  Ryan murmurs and Shane hands Ryan the binoculars.  Ryan peers through them and focuses on the very forefront of the line, where a crazed-looking Brent lofts a pitchfork into the air, bellowing something.  The men behind him raise their own weapons in response and Ryan hurriedly passes the binoculars back to Shane, burying his face into the fur collar of the heavy coat he wears for warmth.  “Shane, there’s so many.”

 

“I know, I can see them.”  Shane holds the binoculars to his eyes with one hand and gropes about with the other until he wraps a hand in the scruff of Ryan’s coat and pulls him into Shane’s side.  “Hey, everything’s going to be fine.”

 

“It better be.”  Ryan mutters, lightly poking Shane’s side before he pulls away from the side hug.  “I’m going to the foyer, see if they need any help.” He begins to turn away when Shane calls out.

 

“Hey, Ryan?”  Ryan turns just as Shane bends down and their lips brush together lightly.  “Be safe.”

 

“Y-yeah…”  Ryan stammers, blushing wildly, and smiles at Shane.  When he turns to go down the stairs, he pulls his coat tighter around himself and raises one hand to brush his fingertips over his buzzing lips.

 

-

 

“We should try and grab Ryan.”  Brent tells Charlie, the baker. “If we can get him out and away, the brainwashing may break.”

 

“You and me?”  Charlie questions, letting his rolling pin fall heavily into one hand, and Brent nods.  “Alright, boss, lead the way.” 

 

The two separate from the mob, distracted by making stakes and makeshift weapons, and slink up to the castle.  A single door lies open, the rest already boarded up, and Charlie scouts around inside before giving Brent the all-clear.  The hallways are eerily empty and they happen into the kitchen, where they hear the sounds of someone rummaging in the cabinets.  Charlie hoists his rolling pin higher and the two split up, flanking the edges of the kitchen, until they locate the source of the noise, which is someone buried waist deep in a cabinet.

 

“Come out slowly, with your hands up!”  Charlie bellows suddenly and the person jolts, slamming their spine into the top of the cabinet painfully.  They yell in pain and half-collapse, falling from their hands to their elbows as they slowly back out, occasionally wincing in pain.  Once they’re out, they turn and Brent realizes it’s Ryan, and relief flashes through him. 

 

“Ryan!”

 

“Brent?”  Ryan rubs at his back, glaring fiercely at both brent and Charlie.  “You two need to leave. I’m not going to ask politely again.” Brent almost winces, but he reminds himself that Ryan’s brainwashed and not in control.

 

“It’s okay, Ryan, we’re going to rescue you.”  

 

“I don’t need rescuing.”  Ryan begins moving towards the door behind him, one hand groping for the doorknob.  Brent panics and leaps forward, tackling Ryan bodily to the ground. Ryan’s head bounces off the tile floor and he’s knocked unconscious. 

 

“What now, boss?”  Brent purses his lips and exhales quickly before he scoops Ryan’s limp form into his arms and nods to the door.

 

“Let’s get outta here.”

 

-

 

“How are defenses?”  Shane asks without turning around when Eugene walks up to stand next to him.

 

“All shored up.  We almost missed a door by the kitchen but Helen caught it at the last minute.  Any movement?”

 

“Not that I can see.”  Shane pulls the binoculars away from his eyes and rubs them tiredly.  “How’s Ryan holding up?”

 

“Last I saw, he went to the kitchen to tear the cabinet doors off for more planks.  Do you really think he’s the one?”

 

“I want to believe it.”  Shane sighs, but gets distracted when Eugene hurriedly nudges him with his elbow and returns the binoculars to him, pointing silently to a spot on the front lawn.  Shane obligingly looks, and chokes on air.

 

Two men are stumbling through the snow and hedges, the taller, weedier one holding an unconscious Ryan, whose head is lolling back and eyes are closed.

 

“What the fuck?”  Shane growls and Eugene turns, dashing down the stairs so he can alert the others as to the newest update in the situation.

 

But Shane can only see red, his pulse thundering in his ears, and he reaches deep inside himself, mind curling into the animalistic instincts he’s spent years burying and ignoring in the hopes they wither and die.  But now they bloom to life, unfolding thorny tendrils that race through his entire body and he roars.

 

The howling, guttural sound pierces the cold morning air, window panes of the castle shaking.  The mob screams and cowers but Ryan’s captors keep running and Shane can’t do anything, confined to his castle by a curse gone wrong.  Once his rage has bled out through his throat, he drops to his knees and buries his face in his hands, shoulders heaving as he gasps for air.  He can’t be weak now. He has to defend his home, his family and his family’s family. 

 

But Ryan’s captors have taken a dagger dripping with poison and carved Shane’s chest open and pulled Ryan out from his spot entwined into Shane’s heart and now Shane’s left bleeding and crying in equal measure, unable to do anything to staunch the wound.

 

-

 

Ryan fades back into consciousness, dimly aware of the fact that people are running and shouting around him.  He inhales deeply, about to stretch like he does every morning, when the memories of why he’s unconscious flood to the forefront of his mind’s eye and he bolts upright with a gasp.  

 

The battle between the mob and the castle is in full swing, fire and weapons flying past Ryan wildly, and he clambers to his feet, almost hesitating when he’s realized the mob has formed a protective half-circle around him, but half of them are infiltrating the castle, and his heart is in his throat, so he sneaks past the others and heads for the castle, taking advantage of a shattered window to climb inside.

 

Keith is locked in a fist fight with a burly man Ryan recognizes as the carpenter, but still grins when he spots Ryan.

 

“Man, Shane’s gonna be happy to see you!”  He calls, just ducking under the carpenter’s swing and pushing the heavy man through a window and out onto the lawn.  Keith salutes jauntily at Ryan before he immediately leaps into another brawl.

 

Ryan ducks and curves around fights and people who haven’t been killed, merely knocked out and moved out of harm’s way.  When he realizes neither side is aiming to kill, only to injure, a little of the tension bleeds from Ryan’s shoulders and he keeps running for the tower.

 

-

 

“What I wouldn’t give to be back home with Ariel!”  Ned shouts as he and Zach stand back to back, doing their best to protect each other and just stay out of the brawling altogether.  Zach opens his mouth to respond when he catches a glimpse of a man with Asian features and mussed, curly black hair. The face of a little boy flashes in Zach’s mind’s eye, and he stumbles, falling to the ground and almost taking Ned with him.  “Whoa, dude, you alright?”

 

Zach leaps back to his feet and looks around wildly for th man, but the brawls obscure his vision and he sighs, simply nodding to Ned as he refocuses on his surroundings.

 

-

 

“I have no other option.”  Brent had said to the mob just before they declared war.  “If I encounter the beast, I will put him down like the dog he is!”  The crowd had roared with approval then, and he’s sure they still would be if they could see him stalking after the hulking figure across the rooftops of the castle.

 

The beast doesn’t notice Brent being his living shadow, too busy peeling wooden panels from the turrets and hurling them down, down, down, striking Brent’s fellow villagers with pinpoint accuracy.  Brent feels rage boiling in his veins, but he exhales slowly and quietly, prying his knife from its sheath on his belt. 

 

“Beast!”  He calls out and the creature whirls, fixing eyes black with fury on him and Brent remembers that this is a creature he fears for a reason, if the sheer speed the beast appears in front of him with is any indication.

 

“Where is Ryan?”  The beast growls and Brent squares his shoulders, brandishing the knife at the unimpressed creature’s chest.

 

“Free from your curse!  Now lie down and be defeated with grace!”

 

“If there’s one thing I’m not, it’s graceful.”  The beast almost… Snarks before turning and taking off across the rooftops again, leaving Brent no option but to sigh and follow across the thin connections.

 

-

 

Ryan’s almost there.  He can see the door to the roof just above him.  He exhales sharply and pushes away the burning in his lungs and legs, using his adrenaline to propel himself those final steps and out into the blizzard blowing around him.  He shivers and longs for the coat Shane had given him, but that doesn’t matter right now. Now, he just wants to find Shane and make this whole mess finish once and for all, preferably peacefully.

 

“Shane!”  Ryan yells into the empty void and when there’s no response, he circles the tower, peering desperately in all directions for any sign of others. 

 

He finds what he’s looking for, but that’s what terrifies him.  Shane is leaping and rolling across rooftops recklessly, Brent trailing close behind him with a knife that practically has Shane’s name on it.

 

“Shane, over here!”  Shane’s head snaps up and his grin at seeing Ryan makes Ryan grin as well, and before he knows it, Shane is standing in front of him.  As Ryan curls his hands into the cloak at Shane’s chest, Shane loosely curls one hand at Ryan’s jaw, thumb brushing over the bone reverently.  

 

“You’re here.”  Shane’s voice is filled with a quiet awe and Ryan laughs quietly.

 

“You thought I wasn’t coming back?”

 

“Nah.”  Shane leans down and his lips replace his thumb.  His cloak rearranges itself in the winter wind, covering them both and stilling Ryan’s shivering.  “I knew you’d miss me.”

 

“Yeah, well-”  Their peaceful interlude ends harshly, when Brent finally reaches them.  Neither Shane nor Ryan had noticed Brent approaching, eyes gleaming as he raises the dagger and plunges it into Shane’s back.  Ryan only has a moment to process Shane’s breath stilling at his neck before Shane pushes Ryan away and whirls, roaring in agony and desperately trying to reach the blade buried in his back, long claw-tipped fingers only able to barely brush the hilt.

 

“Begone, beast!”  Brent cheers gleefully, but Ryan whirls on him with just as much rage as Shane had earlier.

 

“What have you done, Brent?”  Shane staggers and Ryan rushes to grab him, hold him aloft, try to pull the knife out even though Shane towers above him.

 

“...You never loved me.”  Brent realizes finally, with possibly some of the worst timing humanity has ever seen.  Ryan glares at him in confusion, a mix of rage and a look that says ‘yeah, no shit’. “Ryan, we were made for each other!  I knew that a long time ago!”

 

“We were never meant to be, Brent.”  Ryan hisses, just as Shane falls to his knees.  This allows Ryan access to the knife, but it also distracts him from Brent pulling a revolver from the depths of his coat.

 

“If I can’t have you…”  He lifts and aims the gun, and Shane’s head snaps up, teeth baring in a snarl just as Ryan pulls the knife out.  “No one-” Brent never finishes his sentence, because at that moment, Shane charges and heaves Brent off the roof, but not before the gun fires between them.  

 

At that one moment in time, there are three simultaneous screams.  Brent’s, as he falls from view, never to be seen again, Ryan’s, as Shane stumbles backward and falls to his back on the cold stone ground, and Shane’s, which dies in his throat as soon as he falls.

 

“Shane!”  Ryan kneels by his side and sobs openly, pressing his hands to the bloody mess that has become Shane’s chest.  “Don’t worry, it’ll be okay, I promise, you just gotta stay with me!”

 

Shane doesn’t seem as panicked as Ryan, though.  He’s staring up at Ryn as the clouds finally part and the sun shines directly onto Ryan, weaving gold through his black hair and making the tears tracing down his face brilliantly kaleidoscopic.  

 

“You came back…”  Shane whispers quietly and one shaky hand curls loosely around Ryan’s wrist.

 

“Which means you can’t leave!”  Ryan cries, but Shane’s gaze is growing distant, and one by one his fingers uncurl and finally his hand slides away.  “No, no, no, Shane, please, you can’t do this to me!” Ryan’s hands move from Shane’s chest and he cups Shane’s jaw, leaving bloody dots scattered everywhere he touches.  “I love you, please… Just come back to me…” When Shane remains still and cold beneath Ryan’s hands, something deep inside Ryan bursts.

 

When Ryan’s mother was a very young woman, she wandered into a faery circle, and made friends with the Queen of the Seelie Court, merely by accident.  But the Seelie Queen was generous, and blessed Mrs. Bergara so she and all her descendents would be powerful mages if they honed the ability. Mrs. Bergara settled down, doing healing magic and nature spells.  She trained one apprentice, a young outcast Fae named Sara.

 

But where Sara’s magic, the kind that made man into beast and trapped him within his own home, was learned, Ryan’s mother’s was instinct.  And so, by extension, was Ryan’s.

 

Because instinct is so much more powerful than knowledge and with every breath that Ryan drew, every impulsive little leap he took throughout his entire life, it all culminated into a tiny ball of nuclear energy hiding in his heart.  But his heart is broken now and there’s nothing that will get in the way of pure love and grief, the ultimate undefeated power.

 

A shockwave of pure energy explodes from Ryan, blasting a clear circle into the snow around them.  His skin glows molten gold, and his eyes pure white. Wave after wave roll off of him with every heart-wrenching wail and the very clouds flee from the sky in the face of his power.  Snow melts, and vines that had grown up bloom with flowers, beauty in the face of agony.

 

But beauty goes by another name:  Life. And Ryan, though he isn’t conscious of it, reaches across that great, unnamable abyss.  He curls his fingers into Shane’s very core and brings him back by sheer force of want. Under his fingers, warmth floods back into cold fur, and fur melts away to reveal human skin, turned dangerously red from exposure to such power, until Shane looks like he’d fallen asleep in the sun, not died on a snowy turret top.

 

Ryan falls back, but he doesn’t stay down long.  His hands are still glowing faintly as he holds Shane’s face and his eyes are eerily white when Shane opens his eyes and blinks, wincing at the light rolling off of Ryan Bergara.

 

“Hi.”  Ryan whispers and begins laughing, hysterical and exhausted.  Shane sits up, pulls Ryan flush against him, and begins laughing too.


	6. Evermore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An end and a beginning and several other bits too! Thank you for reading.

Ryan eventually gets to his feet, pulling Shane with him.  The snow that had coated Shane’s castle for years has melted rapidly in the summer of Ryan’s powers, and tiny rivers of water stream down to splatter onto the grass stories below them.  

 

Ryan scans Shane’s face, memorizing every aspect of it that wasn’t visible when he was the creature.

 

“You’re staring at me.”  Shane mutters and runs his hands through his hair nervously.  Ryan grabs his wrist and laces their fingers together before he grins, bright and sunny.

 

“I love you.”  Ryan says it like he’s commenting on the weather, like it’s an irreversible fact, and Shane grabs him, hauling him in for a kiss and almost too tight hug.  “You’re not going anywhere from now on, okay, big guy?”

 

“No plans on it, shorty.”  Ryan makes a muffled noise of anger, face buried into Shane’s chest.  “We should get down there with everybody else.”

 

“Mm, in a minute.”

 

-

 

Ryan’s mother stands in the foyer, shucking off her coat and letting a servant take it from her.  She glances around, closes her eyes, and concentrates.

 

The thrum of magic that has lingered over the Madej castle leaves a distinct trail, a cheery yellow in Mrs. Bergara’s mind’s eye.

 

The other villagers don’t notice her as she skirts around the edge of the crowd, following the trail where it leads up, up, up.

 

When her son’s magic had exploded with all the force of a bolt of lightning, detectable to her from the village, Mrs. Bergara had bolted for the castle, but when she realizes an enchantment has been broken there, she tracks the enchantment to its caster, who is in the palace garden.

 

There are no people in the garden, but the magic is growing stronger.  While the hedges and several topiaries are drenched in water from her son’s blast of power and subsequent snowmelt, one topiary remains pristine, the waxy leaves shining in the sunlight.  It’s the figure of a young woman, cupped hands holding out a rose blossom, as if she’s presenting it to whoever looks at her. Mrs. Bergara considers the topiary carefully before walking up.  Magic wells underneath her fingertips when she presses gentle hands into the bush and it begins shaking violently, magic clashing harshly like ocean waves beating against a weathered mountain.

 

With an audible explosion, all the leaves on the topiary burst off in a shower of waxy green, revealing a living young woman under the leaves.  She still holds a rose petal cupped in her palms, and blinks slowly, as if she’s just been woken up from a long slumber.

 

“So this is where you disappeared to?  You stopped visiting because you were a shrub?”  Mrs. Bergara asks, folding her arms over her chest and the woman, Sara, beams, hopping down from the topiary stump she was perched on top of and enveloping the older woman in a warm hug.

 

“I might have messed up a spell.”  Sara mutters into Mrs. Bergara’s shoulder and the older woman erupts into laughter.

 

“As long as you can admit you messed up, then no true damage has been done, I believe.”

 

-

 

The townspeople freeze as their memories come flooding back.  Ned and Zach, standing on the edge of the crowd, stagger together and hold each other up.

 

Back when the four of them were children, Keith, Zach, Ned, and Eugene were best friends and would play together on the castle grounds while their parents worked.  But Ned left for the village first, parents fired from the castle. And on the night that Shane was injured and the curse began, Zach’s family took him and fled for the village.  

 

The curse was such that as soon as Zach had left the castle grounds, he had forgotten the castle existed, along with his two friends who still dwelt inside.  And so Keith and Eugene lost two of their friends. Well… Friends had always been too weak a word to describe Zach and Eugene.

 

“I saw him.”  Zach tells Ned as soon as they regain the air that had been punched out of them.  “I saw Gene, Ned!” Ned smiles softly, knowing something that he’s fairly sure Zach doesn’t yet.

 

“Well, go find him, then.  I’m going to track down Keith.”  The two friends separate and Zach ducks around couples and families hugging, scanning the crowd with an increasing sense of panic.

 

Then he finds who he was looking for and pulls up short.  Eugene leans against a wall on the very edge of the crowd, arms crossed over his chest and watching the crowd apathetically.  He doesn’t see Zach, who smiles and sneaks around until he’s standing almost next to Eugene.

 

“So who are you looking for?”  He’s still grinning when Eugene startles and turns to face him with wide eyes.  “Hi, Eugene.”

 

“Zach.”  Eugene stares at him for a moment longer before he beams, bright enough to dazzle Zach.  “You came back.”

 

“Of course I did!  I’m sorry I forgot.”  Zach looks down and scuffs at a stray piece of rubble, but he isn’t expecting for Eugene to reach out and haul him into a hug.

 

“I don’t blame you, you moron.”  Eugene sounds like he’s choked up and the realization that he’s almost crying himself slams into Zach all at once, and he fists his hands into Eugene’s shirt and hides his face in the taller man’s shoulder, shaking lightly.  “I’m just happy you’re back.”

 

“Yeah.”  Zach leans back and sniffs, scrubbing at his eyes as he smiles at Eugene.  “Yeah, me too.”

 

-

 

“So you were here the whole time?”  Helen stands before Sara, who’s smiling at her sheepishly.

 

“Yeah, when I tried to heal Shane… It kinda stuck me into the castle?  I don’t know, it’s hard to describe. But I am sorry I wasn’t able to tell you.”

 

“It would be silly to blame you for something that wasn’t even your fault.”  From where Sara’s seated on the stairs of the main castle foyer, she can see into where everyone else has gathered.  Shane and Ryan are still off on their own somewhere, but Sara knows they’re probably happier that way.

 

Speaking of happiness, Helen is smiling at Sara and reaching down to help her to her feet.  Sara stumbles into Helen’s arms and the two giggle together for a moment before Helen kisses Sara.

 

“I missed you.”  She whispers into the space between them and Sara beams, leaning forward to peck Helen on the cheek.  

 

“I missed you too.”  Behind her, she can hear two pairs of footsteps walking down the stairs together and she drags Helen into the depths of the crowd.  “Now, come on. I think something exciting is about to happen.”

 

-

 

Ryan stares at himself in the mirror, eyes narrowed as he scans his appearance carefully, looking for anything out of place.

 

“Dear, I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that you look fine.”  Mama stands next to Ryan, staring at his image in the mirror as well. But where Ryan’s brow is creased in worry, she’s smiling serenely.

 

“I want today to be perfect.”  Ryan mutters and Mama reaches out, tangling their fingers together in silent comfort.

 

It’s been months since the spell was broken, but Ryan still feels like every day is laced with a different kind of magic.  He and Shane haven’t left each other’s side once, even with the increased traffic of people coming to and from the castle now that everyone who leaves actually remembers the castle once they have left.  

 

Zach comes in, peering into the hallway behind him as he lets the door fall shut behind him.  He turns and when his eyes land on Ryan, he lights up in a wide smile.

 

“Ryan, you look great!”  Zach darts forward and grabs Ryan’s shoulder, peering at Ryan closely.  Mrs. Bergara takes the chance to return to her seat and rock slowly.

 

The entire castle is in an uproar today, and Ryan wouldn’t hesitate to say the village is as well.  He and Shane are getting married, and while it’s true that Ryan is over the moon, he also wants the entire thing to go off without a hitch.  

 

“Thanks.”  Ryan grins and looks at Zach’s own outfit.  The younger man is dressed in a black suit and white shirt, paired with a lavender tie and a purple rose tucked into his buttonhole.

 

Ryan’s own suit is white and his tie and rose are both golden.  As one of the grooms, it’s natural his suit will be different from everyone else’s.

 

“Are you ready?”  Mrs. Bergara asks and when Ryan nods, she hauls herself out of her chair, reaching out to curl one arm into the crook of her son’s elbow.  With Zach trailing behind them, they head for the chapel.

 

-

 

Keith nudges Shane from where they stand at the front of the aisle, making Shane look up from where he’s fiddling with the cuffs of his suit just as the organ cues up.  Two little girls stroll down the aisle, giggling as they scatter flower petals onto the carpet. Everyone coos over them for a minute but they quickly quiet down when the organ trumpets into life, the Wedding March echoing into the vaulted ceilings of the chapel.

 

Ryan comes through the doorway and Shane’s mouth goes dry, all the moisture seeminglygoing to his hands, which start sweating profusely.

 

Ryan’s dressed in an all-white tuxedo with a flower crown holding his veil.  The flower crown is made of white and gold roses and Ryan’s face has delicate whorls of golden paint trailing around his eyes still visible through the thin veil.  He clings to his mother’s arm as the two walk down the aisle slowly. But Ryan and Shane can only stare at each other.

 

After what seems like an eternity, Ryan reaches the front of the aisle and his mother moves away to squeeze in between Helen and Sara.  

 

Shane reaches out and brushes  the veil from Ryan’s face, feeling his face pull into a wide smile.

 

“Are we ready, Sire?”  The minister asks quietly and Shane nods as Ryan reaches out and latches their hands together.  “Perfect. Let’s begin.”

 

-

 

When Sara had entombed Shane’s parents, she had done so in a moment of stress.  She had just healed Shane and was fighting off being trapped by her own magic. To put it simply, their entrapment was weak,and had been weakened even more by Ryan’s explosion of power.  The straw that broke the camel’s back was all the hustle and bustle for the wedding. Deep in the castle, two statues’ eyes snap open and old stone crumbles into dust. 

 

“Who are they?”  Two guards stand outside the entrance to the chapel, dressed in their ceremonial armor.  One guard spots the royal parents, on the war path, and the other, older soldier pales as he lowers his lance at them.

 

“Those, boy, are the King’s parents.”

 

“But they vanished!”  The junior soldier exclaims as he, too, lowers his lance.

 

“At ease!”  The king barks and the senior soldier shakes his head slightly.

 

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, sir.  The wedding is not be interrupted.”

 

“I am the king!”  The old man bellows angrily and the junior soldier snorts quietly, under his breath.

 

“Not anymore, you’re not.”

 

“Let us in.”  The king snarls and no one notices the queen dart around behind the soldiers to grab the double doors and throw them wide open.

 

-

 

“Do you, King Shane Madej-”  The minister freezes in the middle of reading the vows when the old queen throws the dooropen, the king and the other two soldiers tumbling in behind her.

 

“Shane?”  Ryan asks and Shane pulls the younger man behind him slightly as the two soldiers run up to him.

 

“Sire, we’re sorry, we tried to stop them.  The woman snuck around behind us.”

 

“You will address me as your queen, seeing as I am.”  

 

“Hello, Mother.”  Shane mutters and the old woman trades her angry scowl for a beaming smile as she throws her arms wide.

 

“Sean!  There you are, what have you done with my lovely castle?  It’s horrid, boy, you should be ashamed!” While the queen grins as she speaks, all the listeners wince.  Shane takes a deep breath and reaches behind him to tangle his fingers with Ryan’s. 

 

“My name is Shane, Mother.  It’s no wonder you’ve forgotten, without an entourage of slaves to remind you.”

 

“Don’t speak to me like that, whelp.  I am the Crown Queen, I overpower you.”

 

“But you’re not the Crown Queen.”  When Mother looks stunned, Shane finds the courage to keep talking.  “You and Father were absent and I have maintained the castle since your absence began, so the crown came to me.”

 

“B-but we’re back now!”  The ex-queen stammers, scrambling for power, but Shane just keeps talking.

 

“And the crown is already mine.  And since it is mine, I can freely admit that I do not trust either you or Father to rule the kingdom, seeing as I have never really known you.  So you will find no power over me or my kingdom waiting for you here. Guards, escort them out, please.” He squeezes Ryan’s hand and the younger man smiles up at him.  “We have a wedding to finish.”

 

“Sir, ma’am.”  The two soldiers drag the bitter, raging ex-royals from the room, but their spits and curses are silenced when the door slams shut with an air of finality.

 

“Let’s continue.”  Ryan murmurs to the minister, who nods and tracks a finger down the page, clearing his throat as he resumes from where he was interrupted.

 

“King Shane Alexander Madej, do you take the sorcerer Ryan Bergara to be your lawfully wedded?”

 

“I do.”  Shane mutters and slips a ring onto Ryan’s finger, before Ryan takes Shane’s hand in both of his.  

 

“Sorcerer Ryan Bergara, do you take His Royal Highness Shane Madej to be your lawfully wedded?”

 

“I do.”  Ryan beams once he’s got the ring on and Shane almost can’t wait until the minister finishes saying ‘You may kiss the groom’.  Ryan grabs Shane by the lapels and pulls Shane down to his level, and as everyone cheers and laughs around them, Shane lays his hands on Ryan’s waist and knows the two of them are going to live happily ever after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it’s over! I will miss this, but I’m glad I finished it. Find me over on Tumblr so I can get inspiration for the next fic ;)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, leave a kudos or a comment. <3  
> Find me on Tumblr at @holdyourbreathfornow


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